Dial drive for knitting machines



June 21, 1966 F. c. WlESlNGER ETAL 3,256,714

DIAL DRIVE FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 30, 1964 M1! AM 30 IO 5457 25' i I9 45 5s 2,6 1e 1 70 |8 [3 IL I4 INVENTOR.

FREDERICK CWIESINGER 7| 7 PAs UALEQ.DE;GIO GIO Hg MOM A TTORNE Y United States Patent 3,256,714 DIAL DRIVE FOR KNITTING MACHINES Frederick C. Wiesinger, Feasterville, and Pasquale J. de

Giorgio, Philadelphia, Ia., assiguors to Wildman Jacquard Co., Norristown, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Mar. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 355,57? 5 (Ilaims. (Cl. 66-28) This invention pertains to a circular knitting machine of the dial and cylinder type and, more particularly, to an improved means of driving the needle dial.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved means of driving the needle dial in which a more positive setting and alignment thereof can be maintained relative to the needle cylinder.

It is a further object to provide a dial drive mechanism including adjustment features for varying the height of the dial and adjusting the same circumferentially to obtain proper positioning of the instrumentalities carried by said dial relative to those carried in the cylinder.

It is a still further object of the invention to make the adjustment features thereof readily accessible and which can be quickly and easily made without removing or changing the settings of component parts associated therewith.

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide a dial drive mechanism which is constructed and arranged so as to be effective in preventing the vibrations that are set up through actual operation of the knitting machine from being transmitted directly to the dial.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following more detailed disclosure.

Circular knitting machines of the dial and cylinder type to which the instant invention is applicable are constructed and arranged to rotate the dial and cylinder simultaneously and the cams utilized to control the knitting instrumentalities carried by said dial and cylinder are supported by fixed members, all of which is old and well known to those conversant with the art.

Co-axially disposed ring gears simultaneously driven by interconnected co-axial and vertically disposed driven gears are arranged and designed to rotate the dial and cylinder.

Prior to the instant invention, the upper ring gear which is adapted to drive the dial, transmitted its rotary motion directly to a vertically disposed central shaft that supports the dial above and in close proximity with the needle cylinder. Although this means of rotating the dial has functioned with a degree of success, it is not considered to be the most satisfactory and efiicient method of driving the dial, for the vibrations which are set up by the actual running of the knitting machine are transmitted directly to the center shaft and dial through the upper ring gear. These transmitted vibrational forces are known to be responsible for prematurewear of the bearing members which position and support the center shaft and dial, and additionally, disturbance of the close tolerances which must be maintained between the needle cylinder and dial are attributed to this undesirable condition.

The mechanism according to the instant invention provides a novel means of driving the dial which has corrected that condition of premature Wear of the bearing members as well as reducing substantially the forces of vibration that are transmitted 'to the center shaft and dial.

The mechanism includes a dial hub having an integrally formed and upwardly directed hub extension that serves as the center shaft which was utilized in mechanisms of the prior art. This hub extension passes through and beyond the hub portion of a centrally disposed dial gear 3,256,714 Patented June 21, I966 bed support having an extended bearing surface for guiding and positioning the hub extension of the dial hub.

As with the known types of dial drives, a dial gear hub having a dial gear ring attached to the outer periphery thereof is utilized to drive the dial. The ring gear is in mesh with a driven gear, but the hub portion of the dial gear hub, unlike the known drives whichare keyed to the center shaft, is rotatably assembled on the upper extended bearing surface of the dial gear bed support. The rim of the dial gear hub is supported by three integrally formed spoke members which are equally spaced and extend between the hub and rim. At a point adjacent the rim of the dial gear hub, one of the spoke members is provided with a supporting boss in which an upwardly directed dial drive pin is adapted to assemble. The hub extension of the dial hub extends above and beyond the extended bearing surface of the dial gear bed support and is provided on its uppermost surface with a fixedly attached dial drive arm. Extending outwardly from thetop of the hub extension, the opposite end of the dial drive arm is adapted to be adjustably attached to the vertically disposed dial drive pin. In operation, the dial ring gear is driven in a known manner but does not transmit its rotary movement directly to the hub extension of the dial hub as is the case with known drive mechanisms. This rotary movement is transmitted to the dial by the dial drive arm and the combination of this drive means with the extended bearing surface of the dial gear bed support is effective in preventing premature Wear of the bearing surfaces as well as substantially reducing the forces of vibration 'responsible for disturbing the close tolerances between the dial and cylinder.

The mechanism according to the invention will be described in detail by reference to a specific embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanyingfigures of drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a section taken through a portion of a dial and cylinder knitting machine to which the invention has been applied, and

'FIG. 2 is a plan view of the dial driving arm illustrated in FIG. 1 showing the means of index adjustment for the relative positioning of the dial slots with those of the cylinder.

The general construction and operation of a (1751 and ,cylinder type knitting machine is well known and familiar to those skilled in the art, and as the invention is entirely concerned with an improvement in the means of driving the dial, it is only considered necessary here to illustrate and describe those parts of a knitting machine directly concerned with a preferred form of the present invention.

Now referring to FIG. 1 part of a knitting machine is illustrated including a portion of the supporting frame 10 in which a main bed member 11 is adapted to assemble. This main bed member 11 is constructed and arranged to position and support for rotary movement a cylinder support ring 12 on which a needle cylinder 13 is adapted to assemble by means of a plurality of cap screws 14 (one only shown in FIG. 1).

A gear ring 15 assembles by means of cap screws 16 (one only shown in FIG. 1) to the outer periphery of the cylinder support ring 12 and is in mesh with an intermediate drive gear 17 which serves as a means for rotating the cylinder support ring 12 and the needle cylinder 13.

A cam ring 18 is fixedly positioned immediately above the cylinder support ring 12 and is provided with a plu-' Intermediate the main bed member 11 and the top of the knitting machine itself a centrally disposed dial gear bed generally indicated by numeral 21 is fixedly positioned and supported as at 22 by the supporting frame 10. This dial gear hub has a hub 23 concentrically aligned with the needle cylinder 13 and an outer rim 24 that is interconnected with said hub by three integrally formed and equally spaced spoke members 25 (one only shown). Each spoke is provided with an extension 26 that extends beyond the outer periphery of the rim 24 and serves as a means for attaching the dial gear bed 21 as at 22 to equally spaced points about the support frame 10. The extension 26 shown in FIG. 1 also serves as a support for a drive gear 27 that is utilized to drive the dial and which will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The internal walls 28 of the hub 23 provide an extended bearing surface for positioning and guiding for rotary movement a dial hub generally indicated by numeral 29 having a hub extension 30. This hub extension is vertically disposed and passes through and above the hub 23. The upper portion of hub 23 has been machined as at 31 to a lesser outside diameter than the lower portion thereof and serves as a bearing surface on which a dial gear hub indicated generally by numeral 32 is adapted to assemble for rotary movement. A thrust bearing 33 is seated in a machined pocket 34 in the lower portion of hub 23 adjacent the machined surface 31 and eliminates frictional contact between the hub 23 and the lower p013 tion of the dial gear hub during rotation of the latter. The dial gear hub 32 has an outer rim 33 which is interconnected with its hub portion 34 by three equally spaced and integrally formed spoke members 35 (one only shown in FIG. 1). A dial ring gear 36 assembles on the outer periphery of the rim 33 by means of a plurality of cap screws 37 one of which is shown in FIG. 1. Ring gear 36 is in mesh with drive gear 27 which serves as a means for rotating the dial gear hub 32 in timed relation with the rotation of the needle cylinder 13 and will be more fully described hereinafter.

The spoke member 35 illustrated in FIG. 1 is provided adjacent the outer rim 33 with an integrally formed supporting boss 38 in which a vertically disposed dial drive pin 39 is adapted to assemble. A dial drive arm generally indicated by numeral 40 having one end in the form of a cap 41 and the opposite end thereof being forked as at 42 interconnects the dial drive pin 39 with the top of the hub extension 30 to serve as a means for tansmitting the rotary motion of the dial gear hub 32 to said hub extension. Cap 41 is fixedly assembled on the upper end of the hub extension 30 by means of cap screws 43 and'44 and the forked end 42 of the dial drive arm is adjustably attached to the upper end of the dial drive pin 39 in a manner which will be more fully disclosed hereinafter.

The dial hub 29 being concentric with and supported above the needle cylinder 13 is provided on its upper surface with a needle dial 45 which in a known manner is adapted to cooperate with the needle cylinder in the performance of its intended function.

A fixedly positioned dial cap hub 46is disposed intermediate the dial gear bed 21 and the dial hub 29 and serves as a means for supporting a cam ring 47 that controls the knitting instrumentalities carried in the slots of the needle dial 45. This dial cap hub 46 is supported by the dial gear bed 21 by means of downwardly directed stud members 48 and 49, the upper portions of which are fixedly attached to the spoke member 25 as at 50 and 51, respectively. The lower portion of these stud members 48 and 49 are machined to a lesser diameter than the upper portion as at 52 and 53 forming so-called necked surfaces that are adapted to slidably receive bracket members 54 and 55, respectively, having fixed thereto pins 54 and 55. Bracket members 54 and 55 are slidably adjusted to permit pins 54' and 55 to rest on the upper surfaces of the cam ring 47 and dial cap hub 46 and are provided with set screws 56 and 57 for maintaining the desired setting of said dial ca-p hub. This hub is held against rotary movement by the known forms of attachments interconnecting it with the supporting frame. A thrust bearing 58 is utilized between the dial hub 29 and the dial hub cap 46 to provide the necessary clearance between these members and to facilitate the rotation of said dial hub 29 by reducing the frictional contact between it and said dial hub cap. The dial hub and dial hub cap may be raised or lowered to effect a change in the amount of clearance between the needle cylinder 13 and the needle dial 45. The means employed to effect a change of clearance between these members includes a threaded surface 59 disposed adjacent the top of the hub extension 30 which extends from a point adjacent the lower portion of cap 41 downwardly to a point just below the upper surface of hub portion 34 of the dial gear hub 32. A dial adjusting nut 60 assembles on this threaded surface 59 and in abutting relationship with a thrust bearing 61 seated in a machined pocket 62 provided on the upper side of hub 34' of the dial gear hub 32.

By simply loosening the set screws 56 and 57 in bracket members 54 and 55 and the means of attaching the forked end 42 of the dial drive arm to the dial drive pin 39, the dial hub 29 and dial hub cap 46 may be raised or lowered by turning the dial adjusting nut 60 in one direction or the other. When the desired clearance is obtained between the needle cylinder 13 and the needle dial 45, the setting is maintained by tightening set screws 56 and 57 and the means for attaching the dial drive arm 40 to the dial drive pin 39.

FIG. 2 shows the index adjustment feature that is utilized for relative positioning of the dial slots with respect to those of the needle cylinder. This adjustment feature includes an L-shaped retaining clip 63 which attaches v to one side of the forked end 42 of the dial drive arm as at 64. Clip 63 is adapted to position and retain a' laminated type shim 65 within the forked portion of the driving arm through which the dial drive pin 39 is caused to pass. The opposite side of the forked end 42 is pro vided with a laterally extending set screw 66 that extends from each side of said opposite side with the tip portion of the set screw being tightened against the side of the dial drive pin as at 67. A lock nut 68 disposed adjacent the head portion of the set screw is tightened against the outer side of the drive arm to maintain the dial drive pin in pressing contact with the clip 63. To vary or adjust the setting between the slots of the dial and cylinder a thicker shim 65 may be inserted or the assembled shim can be disassembled and a required number of laminations removed.

In operation, the needle cylinder and dial are caused to be driven simultaneously and at the same rate of speed by means of a vertically disposed driving shaft 69 having drive gear 27 fixedly attached to its upper end and drive gear 17 attached in a like manner to its lower end. A driving pinion 70 is secured to the upper end of a power shaft 71 which is driven by a suitable source of power (not shown) carried in the lower portion of the knitting machines supporting frame 10.

Drive gear 17 is in mesh with gear ring 15 as well as the driving pinion 70 and rotation of the latter transmits this motion to the gear ring 15 to rotate the needle cylinder 13. This motion is also transmitted through the driving shaft 69 to drive gear 27 which is in mesh with the dial ring gear 36 causing the latter to rotate with the gear ring 15 and the needle cylinder 13. Unlike the dial drive constructions of the prior art, the rotary movement of the dial gear hub is not transmitted directly to the dial but is transmitted through the dial drive arm 40 which has one end attached to the top of the hub extension 30 and its opposite end adjustably attached to the vertically disposed dial drive pin 39 disposed adjacent the rim 33 on spoke member 32 ofsaid dial gear hub 32.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

We claim:

1. In a knitting machine of the circular type including a cylinder having a set of cylinder needles and a concentric dial having a set of dial needles adapted to cooperate in their action with said cylinder needles in the performance of the knitting operation, driving means for rotating said dial in timed relation with the rotation of said cylinder which includes a dial hub vertically and concentrically disposed and rotatably assembled within a fixedly positioned dial hub support, a combined rotatably driven dial ring gear and hub superimposed above said dial hub support, a dial driving arm having a first end adjustably attached to said driven dial ring gear and hub, and a second end fixedly attached to one end of said dial hub.

2. In a knitting machine of the circular type including a supporting frame, a cylinder having a set of cylinder needles and a concentric dial having a set of dial needles adapted to cooperate in their action with said cylinder needles in the performance of the knitting operation, driving means for rotating said dial in timed relation with the rotation of said cylinder which includes a dial hub vertically and concentrically disposed and rotatably assembled within a dial hub support, said dial hub support being centrally disposed within and fixedly attached to said supporting frame, a combined rotatably driven dial ring gear and hub superimposed above said dial hub support, a dial driving arm having a first end adjustably attached to said driven dial ring gear and hub, and a second end fixedly attached to the upper end of said dial hub.

3. In a knitting machine of the circular type including a supporting frame, a cylinder having a set of cylinder needles and a concentric dial having a set of dial needles adapted to cooperate in their action with said cylinder needles in the performance of the knitting operation, driving means for rotating said dial in timed relation with the rotation of said cylinder which includes a dial hub vertically and concentrically disposed and rotatably assembled within a dial hub support, said dial hub support being centrally disposed within and fixedly attached to said supporting frame, a dial hub cap disposed intermediate said dial and dial hub support having a plurality of cam members adjacent the outer periphery thereof for actuating said dial needles, interconnecting means for fixedly positioning said dia-l hub cap to said dial hub support, a dial driving arm having a first end adjustably attached to said driven dial ring gear and hub, and a second end fixedly attached to the upper end of said dial hub.

4. In a knitting machine of the circular type including a supporting frame, a cylinder having a set of cylinder needles and a concentric dial having a set of dial needles adapted to cooperate in their action with said cylinder needles in the performance of the knitting operation, driving means for rotating said dial in timed relation with the rotation of said cylinder which includes a dial hub vertically and concentrically disposed and rotatably assembled within a dial hub support, said dial hub support being centrally disposed within and fixed-1y attached to said supporting frame, a dial hub cap disposed intermediate said dial and dial hub support having a plurality of cam members adjacent the outer periphery thereof for actuating said dial needles, interconnecting means for fixedly positioning said dial hub cap to said dial hub support, a dial driving arm having a first end adjustably attached to said driven dial ring gear and hub, and a second end fixedly attached to the upper end of said dial hub, means for vertical adjustment of said dial including an extended external threaded surface adjacent the upper end of said dial hub, a thrust bearing and a dial adjusting member threadably received by said threaded surface and in abutting relation with said thrust bearing and said dial ring gear and hub.

5. The structure of claim 1 wherein the first end of said dial driving arm is circumferentially adjustable for relative positioning by the knitting instrumentalities of said dial with those of said cylinder.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner. R. FELDBAUM, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A KNITTING MACHINE OF THE CIRCULAR TYPE INCLUDING A CYLINDER HAVING A SET OF CYLINDER NEEDLES AND A CONCENTRICAL DIAL HAVING A SET OF DIAL NEEDLES ADAPTED TO COOPERATE IN THEIR ACTION WITH SAID CYLINDER NEEDLES IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE KNITTING OPERATION, DRIVING MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID DIAL IN TIMED RELATION WITH THE ROTATION OF SAID CYLINDER WHICH INCLUDES A DIAL HUB VERTICALLY AND CONCENTRICALLY DISPOSED AND ROTATABLY ASSEMBLED WITHIN A FIXEDLY POSITIONED DIAL HUB SUPPORT, A COMBINED ROTATABLY DRIVEN DIAL RING GEAR AND HUB SUPERIMPOSED ABOVE SAID DIAL HUB SUPPORT, A DIAL DRIVING ARM HAVING A FIRST END ADJUSTABLY ATTACHED TO SAID DRIVEN DIAL RING GEAR AND HUB, AND A SECOND END FIXEDLY ATTACHED TO ONE END OF SAID DIAL HUB. 